Saying Maria Menounos has a cool job is like saying Serena Williamsis good at tennis: huge understatement! As a correspondent forAccess Hollywood and the Today show, she's hadassignments as varied as spending the Fourth of July with the Obamas andlearning to wrestle with Hulk Hogan. "It's the most exciting work in theworld," she says, and a workout in itself. "I burn a lot of caloriessimply by doing my job. I'm always running around like crazy"—thesame way she has been since childhood in Medford, Massachusetts, whereshe played street hockey with cousins, then joined the basketball teamin high school. Today, Menounos, 30, relies on that athleticism tosupport her in all the adventures that come her way. "I'll try anything.When Access needs someone to rock climb with Jack Osbourne, I'm like,'I'll go!'" says the daredevil-for-hire, who also skateboarded ahalf-pipe while covering extreme sports at the Gravity Games.

Off camera, Menounos is also active, but not in the gymcentric waysof many of the Hollywood stars she interviews. "My goal is to feel likeI'm not exercising," she says of her fitness routines. "My trainer maycome over, but we'll go outside and run. Or I'll have basketball gamesat my house with guys from Access. I'm tireless when playing sports.Have me do 20 reps of something in a gym, though, and I'm dying."Menounos gave self a peek at some of the activities that fire her up(and the slim, sexy results). Try them yourself and watch pounds meltoff!

Get excited about exercise

Fitness feels like no fun? Tips to revive your drive:

Join in the game Start playing! "Sports tie physicalactivity with a social event, making exercise more valuable to you as itbecomes a source of both motivation and support," says Stephen Virgilio,Ph.D., chairman of the health and physical education department atAdelphi University in Garden City, New York.

Have an ulterior motive Pick activities that involvean aim other than losing weight. Master a skill or train for a race,says Jennifer Huberty, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical activityin health promotion at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Everysession, you get closer to your goal, which ups your self-confidence.That assuredness makes doing anything motivating, she says—evenpracticing Krav Maga moves over and over, as Menounos does. "I feelempowered," she says.

Go on, get out there Any change of scenery can spiceup a stale routine, but park sessions help the most: Researchers at theUniversity of Essex in Colchester, England, found that a nature walkimproved the mood of 88 percent of subjects, whereas walking in a mallleft 45 percent feeling worse. Fresh air, here you come!

Reap the total-body rewards

Let the wow results of revving up your routine motivate you to keepmoving.

A speedy slim-down Adding sports, yoga,dance—essentially a variety of workouts—to your exercisearsenal helps you stay slim. "If all you do is jog steadily, your bodyquickly adapts, so it burns fewer calories," says Andrea Orbeck,Menounos's trainer, founder of PreHab Health and Fitness in LosAngeles.

Fab abs Because your midsection is integral tobalance and agility, any activity that tests and improves those skills(think inline skating, tennis, soccer) will net a stronger, sleekermiddle in the process, Orbeck says. "The moves you make playing sportsare never exactly the same, so you challenge muscles in a way you'dnever do in the gym, where you usually control all the elements."

Better backside "There's such a thing as treadmillass," Orbeck says. "It's flatter because the machine propels you, soyou're almost bounding more than running. Race around on your own andyou'll fully engage your glutes, creating a shapelier butt."